"Revenue growth in the fourth quarter was broad-based, across each of our client categories. Revenue from government clients increased 22 percent, driven by our disaster recovery work for state and local government clients. Revenue from commercial clients increased 12 percent from the 2017 fourth quarter, reflecting positive comparisons in both marketing services and energy markets, which together comprised over 90 percent of ICF's commercial revenue this quarter.

"On a consolidated basis, we delivered 10 percent service revenue1 growth in the fourth quarter, which together with a favorable business mix and higher utilization drove a 26 percent increase in adjusted EBITDA1, and an exceptional adjusted EBITDA to service revenue margin of 16.5 percent.

"Additionally, this was a solid quarter of new contract awards for ICF following a record third quarter, bringing the value of contracts won in 2018 to $1.82 billion, equivalent to a book-to-bill ratio of 1.4. At the same time, our year-end business development pipeline increased to over $5.8 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 38 percent," Mr. Kesavan noted.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Results

Fourth quarter 2018 total revenue was $377.9 million, representing 17.7 percent growth over the $321.2 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2017. Service revenue increased 10.0 percent year-over-year to $239.6 million, from $217.8 million. Net income amounted to $18.7 million in the 2018 fourth quarter, or $0.97 per diluted share, inclusive of $0.09 of tax-effected special charges, which included $0.05 for a reserve related to the bankruptcy of Pacific Gas & Electric. The 2018 fourth quarter effective tax rate was higher than anticipated primarily due to valuation allowances of foreign tax credits. In the 2017 fourth quarter, net income was $27.1 million, or $1.41 per diluted share, inclusive of a one-time benefit of $0.85 per diluted share in connection with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and $0.13 of tax-effected special charges.

Non-GAAP EPS increased 50.0 percent to $1.17 per share from $0.78 per share in 2017. EBITDA1 was $36.9 million, up 36.1 percent from $27.1 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA was $39.4 million, 25.5 percent above the $31.4 million reported in the 2017 fourth quarter. Fourth quarter 2018 adjusted EBITDA margin on service revenue was 16.5 percent compared to 14.4 percent in the 2017 fourth quarter.

Full Year 2018 Results

For 2018, total revenue amounted to $1.34 billion, representing 8.9 percent growth over the $1.23 billion reported for full year 2017. Service revenue increased 4.7 percent year-over-year to $925.8 million, from $884.2 million in 2017. Full year 2018 net income amounted to $61.4 million, or $3.18 per diluted share, inclusive of $0.17 of tax-effected special charges, which included $0.05 for a reserve related to the bankruptcy of Pacific Gas & Electric. This compares to net income of $62.9 million, or $3.27 per diluted share for last year, inclusive of $0.84 for a one-time tax benefit and $0.24 of tax-effected special charges.

Non-GAAP EPS increased 23.5 percent year-over-year to $3.73 per share from $3.02 per share. EBITDA was $119.5 million, up 7.6 percent from $111.0 million reported in 2017. Adjusted EBITDA was $123.8 million, a 5.0 percent increase over $117.9 million in 2017. The 2018 adjusted EBITDA margin on service revenue was 13.4 percent, as compared to 13.3 percent reported in 2017.

Backlog and New Business Awards

Total backlog was $2.4 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018. Funded backlog was $1.1 billion, or approximately 48 percent of the total backlog. The total value of contracts awarded in the 2018 fourth quarter was $285.8 million. For full year 2018, contract awards were $1.82 billion, representing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.4.

Government Revenue Fourth Quarter 2018 Highlights

Revenue from government clients was $226.0 million, up 21.7 percent year-over-year.

U.S. federal government revenue was $131.5 million, representing a 2.1 percent year-over-year increase. Federal government revenue accounted for 35 percent of total revenue, compared to 40 percent of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2017.

U.S. state and local government revenue increased by 115.2 percent year-on-year to $62.2 million. State and local accounted for 16 percent of total revenue, compared to 9 percent of total revenue in the 2017 fourth quarter.

International government revenue increased 15.0 percent year-on-year to $32.3 million and accounted for 9 percent of total revenue in both the 2018 and 2017 fourth quarters.

Key Government Contracts Awarded in the Fourth Quarter

ICF was awarded more than 80 U.S. federal contracts and task orders and more than 250 additional contracts from U.S. state and local and international governments with an aggregate value of $156.4 million. Year-to-date government awards totaled $1.36 billion. Awards won in the fourth quarter included:

Disaster recovery: Multiple awards totaling more than $50 million, which were mentioned in our November 1, 2018 earnings call, to support housing and infrastructure programs that are part of state and local government disaster recovery activities associated with Hurricane Harvey.

Advisory services: A contract with the Air Force Civil Engineer Command to provide advisory and assistance services.

Public health: A subcontract to provide services to a federal agency related to addressing underage drinking.

Environment and planning: Numerous contract amendments with a western U.S. state water resources agency related to environmental evaluation, compliance, permitting, program management, and public outreach.

Strategic communications: Multiple contracts and task orders with various European Commission agencies and directorates to provide strategic communications services.

Program support: A contract with an office of the U.S. Department of Education to provide program support services.

Select other government contract and task order wins with a value greater than $2 million included: ongoing technical assistance services for the U.S. Department of Education'sAppalachia Regional Comprehensive Center; program support services for the responsible fatherhood clearinghouse of the Office of Family Assistance; and analysis and planning services for a western U.S. water resources board.

Commercial Revenue Fourth Quarter 2018 Highlights

Commercial revenue was $151.9 million, up 12.2 percent from the $135.4 million reported in last year's fourth quarter. Commercial revenue accounted for 40 percent of total revenue compared to 42 percent of total revenue in the 2017 fourth quarter.

Commercial sales were $129.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 and $464.5 million year-to-date. ICF was awarded more than 650 commercial projects globally during the fourth quarter including:

In Energy Markets:

A contract amendment with a western U.S. energy organization to continue supporting its residential energy efficiency program.

Contracts with a northeastern U.S. utility to support its residential energy efficiency programs.

Two contract extensions with a northeastern U.S. utility to continue providing support for its energy efficiency programs.

A contract and several task orders with a western U.S. utility to provide environment and planning services.

A work order with an electric transmission company to prepare a cultural resource inventory.

In Marketing Services:

A retainer with a major U.S. rail transportation system to continue to provide loyalty program services.

Multiple task orders with a U.S. health insurer to provide additional marketing services.

Multiple task orders with a U.S. health insurer to provide healthcare business consulting and digital solutions services.

Multiple task orders with a publisher of educational products to continue to provide marketing services.

Select other commercial contract and task order wins with a value of more than $1 million included: loyalty program services for two hospitality chains; ongoing support for residential energy efficiency programs for a utility in the midwestern U.S.; and program support services for a non-road electrification program for a southeastern U.S. utility.

Dividend Declaration

On February 26, 2019, ICF declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.14 per share, payable on April 16, 2019 to shareholders of record on March 29, 2019.

2018 Recognitions

ICF received several important recognitions in 2018:

Forbes named ICF one of "America's Best Management Consulting Firms" for the third consecutive year

Awarded Government Contractor of the Year and Program of the Year for a Large Business by Greater Washington GovCon

"Looking ahead, we have strong visibility into 2019 based on our existing contract backlog. We expect the catalysts that benefitted our 2018 performance to continue to drive significant growth and further margin expansion in 2019. Each of our client categories is positioned for year-over-year progress in 2019. In government markets, ICF's domain expertise and cross-cutting implementation skills align with federal agency spending priorities and funding appropriated for post-hurricane housing recovery. In commercial markets, we have a strong pipeline of energy efficiency programs and continue to build our distributed energy and resiliency consulting services. Additionally, we have substantial opportunities to further leverage our commercial marketing services and engagement capabilities broadly across our domestic and international client sets.

"For full year 2019, we expect revenue of $1.45 billion to $1.50 billion. This guidance includes the impact of the partial government shutdown that took place in January 2019 and affected several of ICF's federal agency clients. The Company expects to re-capture the approximately $3 million in lost revenue due to the shutdown throughout 2019 but will absorb the related operating expenses, which are expected to impact diluted EPS by $0.05 in the first quarter. GAAP earnings per diluted share are expected to be in the range of $3.75 to $3.95, exclusive of any special charges. Non-GAAP diluted EPS is expected to range from $4.05 to $4.25. Per share guidance is based on a weighted average number of shares outstanding of 19.3 million. Operating cash flow, which was slightly below our 2018 guidance due to timing issues, is projected to be in the range of $100 million to $120 million for 2019. Full year 2019 guidance does not include any significant new disaster recovery-related contract wins that might occur," concluded Mr. Kesavan.

About ICF ICF (NASDAQ:ICFI) is a global consulting services company with over 5,500 specialized experts, but we are not your typical consultants. At ICF, business analysts and policy specialists work together with digital strategists, data scientists and creatives. We combine unmatched industry expertise with cutting-edge engagement capabilities to help organizations solve their most complex challenges. Since 1969, public and private sector clients have worked with ICF to navigate change and shape the future. Learn more at icf.com.

Caution Concerning Forward-looking StatementsStatements that are not historical facts and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may concern our current expectations about our future results, plans, operations and prospects and involve certain risks, including those related to the government contracting industry generally; our particular business, including our dependence on contracts with U.S. federal government agencies; and our ability to acquire and successfully integrate businesses. These and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ from those indicated in forward-looking statements are included in the "Risk Factors" section of our securities filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included herein are only made as of the date hereof, and we specifically disclaim any obligation to update these statements in the future.

ICF International, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

Three months ended

Twelve months ended

December 31,

December 31,

2018

2017

2018

2017

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

Revenue

$ 377,910

$ 321,174

$ 1,337,973

$ 1,229,162

Direct Costs

249,057

207,230

857,508

771,725

Operating costs and expenses:

Indirect and selling expenses

91,958

86,840

360,987

346,440

Depreciation and amortization

4,439

4,260

17,163

17,691

Amortization of intangible assets

3,013

2,663

10,043

10,888

Total operating costs and expenses

99,410

93,763

388,193

375,019

Operating Income

29,443

20,181

92,272

82,418

Interest expense

(2,637)

(1,890)

(8,710)

(8,553)

Other (expense) income

(170)

97

(735)

121

Income before income taxes

26,636

18,388

82,827

73,986

Provision (benefits) for income taxes

7,941

(8,682)

21,427

11,110

Net income

$ 18,695

$ 27,070

$ 61,400

$ 62,876

Earnings per Share:

Basic

$ 0.99

$ 1.45

$ 3.27

$ 3.35

Diluted

$ 0.97

$ 1.41

$ 3.18

$ 3.27

Weighted-average Shares:

Basic

18,838

18,646

18,797

18,766

Diluted

19,333

19,136

19,335

19,244

Cash dividends declared per common share

0.14

—

0.56

—

Other comprehensive (loss) income:

(4,407)

1,571

(6,683)

4,601

Comprehensive income, net of tax

$ 14,288

$ 28,641

$ 54,717

$ 67,477

ICF International, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures (2)

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

Three months ended

Twelve months ended

December 31,

December 31,

2018

2017

2018

2017

(Unaudited)

(Unaudited)

Reconciliation of Service Revenue

Revenue

$ 377,910

$ 321,174

$ 1,337,973

$ 1,229,162

Subcontractor and Other Direct Costs(3)

(138,296)

(103,399)

(412,216)

(344,913)

Service Revenue

$ 239,614

$ 217,775

$ 925,757

$ 884,249

Reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

Net Income

$ 18,695

$ 27,070

$ 61,400

$ 62,876

Other expense (income)

170

(97)

735

(121)

Interest expense

2,637

1,890

8,710

8,553

Provision for income taxes

7,941

(8,682)

21,427

11,110

Depreciation and amortization

7,452

6,923

27,206

28,579

EBITDA

36,895

27,104

119,478

110,997

Special charges related to acquisition expenses(4)

748

239

1,361

239

Special charges related to severance for staff realignment(5)

559

742

1,554

1,583

Special charges related to facilities consolidations and office closures(6)

—

339

115

2,060

Special charges due to additional cash bonus expense(7)

—

3,000

—

3,000

Special charges related to bad debt reserve(8)

1,240

—

1,240

—

Total special charges and adjustments

2,547

4,320

4,270

6,882

Adjusted EBITDA

$ 39,442

$ 31,424

$ 123,748

$ 117,879

EBITDA Margin Percent on Revenue(9)

9.8%

8.4%

8.9%

9.0%

EBITDA Margin Percent on Service Revenue(9)

15.4%

12.4%

12.9%

12.6%

Adjusted EBITDA Margin Percent on Revenue(9)

10.4%

9.8%

9.2%

9.6%

Adjusted EBITDA Margin Percent on Service Revenue(9)

16.5%

14.4%

13.4%

13.3%

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP EPS

Diluted EPS

$ 0.97

$ 1.41

$ 3.18

$ 3.27

Special charges related to acquisitions

0.04

0.01

0.07

0.01

Special charges related to severance for staff realignment

0.03

0.04

0.08

0.08

Special charges related to facilities consolidations and office closures

—

0.02

0.01

0.12

Special charges due to additional cash bonus expense

—

0.16

—

0.16

Special charges related to bad debt reserve

0.06

—

0.06

—

Amortization of intangibles

0.16

0.14

0.52

0.57

Income tax effects on amortization, special charges, and adjustments(10)

(0.09)

(0.15)

(0.19)

(0.35)

Adjustments for changes in the tax rate under new Tax Act

—

(0.85)

—

(0.84)

Non-GAAP EPS

$ 1.17

$ 0.78

$ 3.73

$ 3.02

(2)These tables provide reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most applicable U.S. GAAP numbers. While we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures may be useful in evaluating our financial information, they should be considered supplemental in nature and not as a substitute for financial information prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Other companies may define similarly titled non-GAAP measures differently and, accordingly, care should be exercised in understanding how we define these measures.

(3)Subcontractor and Other Direct Costs is equal to Direct Costs minus Direct Labor and Fringe Costs.

(4) Special charges related to acquisitions: These costs are mainly related to closed and anticipated-to-close acquisitions, consisting primarily of consultants and other outside party costs and an increase in the contingent consideration liability. The amortization of deferred consideration payments, discounted as part of the acquisition, are included in the calculation of non-GAAP earnings per share.

(5) Special charges related to severance for staff realignment: These costs are mainly due to involuntary employee termination benefits for Company officers or groups of employees who have been terminated as part of a consolidation or reorganization.

(6) Special charges related to facilities consolidations and office closures: These costs are exit costs associated with terminated leases or full office closures. These exit costs include charges incurred under a contractual obligation that existed as of the date of the accrual and for which we will continue to pay until the contractual obligation is satisfied but with no economic benefit to us.

(7) Special charges due to additional cash bonus expense: In response to the Tax Act that was passed in December 2017 and took effect in 2018, we increased the portion of bonuses that will be paid in cash, which increased the amount that can be deducted for income tax purposes for 2017.

(8) Special charge related bad debt reserve: This cost is related to the January 2019 bankruptcy filing of a utility client.

(9) EBITDA Margin Percent and Adjusted EBITDA Margin Percent were calculated by dividing the non-GAAP measure by the corresponding revenue.

(10)Income tax effects were calculated using an effective U.S. GAAP tax rate of 29.8% and 25.9% for the quarter and the year ended December 31, 2018, respectively, and 41.1% and 37.0%, prior to the adjustments for changes in the tax rate under the new tax regulations, for the quarter and the year ended December 31, 2017, respectively.

(11)As is shown in the supplemental schedule, we track revenue by key metrics (including client markets and client type) that provide useful information about the nature of our operations. The client markets metric provides insight into the breadth of our expertise while the client type metric is an indicator of the diversity of our client base.

(12)Certain immaterial revenue percentages in the prior year have been reclassified due to minor adjustments and reclassification within contract mix.

1 Non-GAAP EPS, Service Revenue, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin on Service Revenue are non-GAAP measurements. A reconciliation of all non-GAAP measurements to the most applicable GAAP number is set forth below. Special charges are items that were included within our statement of operations but are not indicative of ongoing performance and have been presented net of applicable U.S. GAAP taxes. The presentation of non-GAAP measurements may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies.